Incense

I really need to catch up on the Questions. I have been spending more time trying to figure out how to move this to a new server so we can rid ourselves of the Blogger "next blog" feature.

Anyway, this question came in:

Hello Father-

My questions is this: Is it necessary to use so much incense during high mass? I understand the symbolism behind using incense at high mass and have no objection to it, but it seems to me the amount of incense used is increasing.

If you look around, people are coughing, unable to sing (which I actually enjoy doing), some of the elderly people don't look so great, and I, on more than one occasion, have had to excuse myself- and I'm not the only one. This last Sunday was one occasion. The church was literally a cloud of incense. I don't know how the choir gets through it every week.

Is it your personal belief that God measures our devotion according to the amount of incense we use? If not, would you consider using less? Just a thought...

Here is the answer:

Frankincense, which we use during the Christmas season, does smoke a bit more. I will try to be more judicious in its use. Also we will open that window again when the weather gets warmer. And if only the ushers could turn on those fans. Thanks.

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Halloween

here is the question:

Hi Father, can you shed some light for the children on what Halloween is all about. Was it not the Feast of All Saints originally before all the pumpkins and such came about?

My answer:

All Saints Day is November 1st. In the ancient practice the new day would begin as soon as the sun set on the previous day. So the night before was "All Saints Eve" The ancient language had it as "All Hallows Eve" or "Hallows Eve" or "Hallow 'een"

The time was set asside to remember all those who had gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especailly the saints and the beloved members of the family. The more we focused on the canonized saints the more we desired to celebrate the unremembered, and so All Souls Day grew out of that desire.

It was a time for Vigil, for prayer, for remembering, and for story telling.

The American version of Halloween grew out of these religious practices coupled with Harvest festivals and some pagan or occult practices.

The American version of Halloween is really its own thing now, divorced from its ancient roots. It is really a benign event, and an opportunity for celebration with children. I cannot reliably say where the idea of costumes came from, but you can participate in the formation of your children if you guide them in the selection of the costumes. I would suggest them portraying an ancestor in your own family, or one of the saints, instead of ghosts and goblins, or cartoon characters.

In the comments portion of this post, I would welcome other suggestions about how Catholics might observe "All Hallows Eve."

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Confession

Here is the question:

Hi Father- As I am learning more about my faith I find myself frustrated
that there is so much I still must learn in order to confidently defend my beliefs, especially since my spouse does not understand my religion. It is therefore up to me to teach my daughter as she grows. One question that I have been asked many times is why do Catholics receive the sacrament of reconciliation from a priest instead of simply praying to God for forgiveness? My understanding is that the priest is at that moment given the power through God to forgive but I have to admit that this is a reasonable question and one I find hard to defend-can you give me any insight?

My answer:

It is about the incarnation. Jesus was made flesh of the Virgin Mary. Yes, we pray to God for forgiveness, and he forgives us, and we may or may not feel his forgiveness. For Catholics, the answer comes in the flesh. One who has been ordered to conform to Christ and is given the power to act in persona Christi capitis lays his hand on you and pronounces the words of absolution so you can hear it with your own ears. All the sacraments are fully human and fully Divine, just like Jesus. Reme,ber, he promised to be with us until the end of time. This is how.

In Persona Christi capitis is the power to act as Christ, the head of the body.

And old question:

I have been going to church every week and it seems that each week its a bigger and bigger mess in the parking lot and by the time we find a park and walk to the church, there is no seating. In my opinion this is due to the masses running into other masses such as the 10:00 mass going into the 11:30 mass. I am not the only one who has noticed this and was wondering if something could be done about it.

An answer:

Our Church only seats 400. That is one of the reasons we have nine masses each Sunday. At 10:00am and 11:30 we normally have between 500 and 600 people, with many people standing along the walls. At 10:00 we spend about 20 minutes just giving out communion. One of the things we need are more Eucharistic Ministers, but there is really no room for them. We are doing our best to end the 10:00 and the 11:30 Mass on time, both are traditionally late because of the overflow.

On thing to remember is that the back parking lot never is full for the 10:00am Mass. If you come a little earlier and park there, you may find an easier time.

Thanks for the question, and pray that we may eventually be able to expand our church for all the people who wish to worship here.

back to answering questions

Well, I think we got the bugs worked out, and the template moved over to a new address where things may be a bit easier.

So go ahead and ask questions. I will do my best to answer them.

On Vacation

The Christmas days are approaching and things are very busy around here. After Christmas I will be taking some vacation days and heading to Rome on a pilgrimage. I will be back in mid January and will return to answering questions then.

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